AUTUMN 2020 MISSION PARTNERSHIP ADVOCACY COLLABORATORS

Our Collaborative Organizations PC(USA) Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministries of the PCUSA https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/ The Compassion, Peace & Justice (CPJ) ministry engages with Presbyterians and partners across the U.S. and internationally to address injustice, advocate for peace, assist and accompany people and communities impacted by poverty, violence and disasters, and support work to eradicate racism, white supremacy and oppression of all kinds. Sign up for Presbyterian Justice and Peace Newsletter here.

Presbyterian Office of Public Witness https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/washington/ The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation’s capital since 1946. Current Action links: Urge Protection for asylum seekers in northern Mexico • Tell Congress to Oppose New Muslim Ban Expansion • Urge Congress to Safely Resettle Refugees

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CENTRAL centraldenver.com

DIVINO SALVADOR denpres.org/

divinosalvador

MONTVIEW BOULEVARD montview.org

"The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the

citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were

aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

~Leviticus 19:34

CAPITOL HEIGHTS capheightspres.org

JOURNEY WITH MIGRANTS

AUTUMN 2020 MISSION PARTNERSHIP ADVOCACY COLLABORATORS

Colorado American Friends Service Committee (local) https://www.afsc.org/office/denver-co AFSC Denver organizes allies, faith communities and immigrants along the Front Range to support immigrant justice. From resistance to deportation to fomenting positive narratives, we advocate for policy change. We do this work through three groups of member-leaders: Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition, and the Not1More deportation table. Subscribe to receive Colorado Immigrant Rights Action Alerts and Events

Casa de Paz https://www.casadepazcolorado.org Casa de Paz provides visits, shelter, meals, transportation and emotional support. Detention is a difficult time that tears families apart and creates a financial burden, so we have always offered our services free of cost. Casa de Paz is the only organization in Colorado offering shelter to released immigrants and their families. Casa de Paz is a promise - a promise that as long as detention centers keep families apart, there will also be a welcoming home with our doors wide open.

Common Cause (Colorado Chapter) https://www.commoncause.org/colorado/ Colorado Common Cause strengthens democracy in our state. We promote public participation in our government and defend civil rights by protecting the right to vote. We work to empower ordinary people by building the movement for large-scale campaign finance reform. And we ensure that the government serves the public interest by advocating for increased transparency and ethics in government.

Interfaith Immigration Network (local) https://interfaithimmigrationnetwork.org We are a network of religious organizations in the Greater Denver area, allied with immigrants, and working together to convene and present a strong united interfaith voice in support of immigrants and their rights, and to provide education, outreach and support for religious organizations to catalyze their engagement with immigrant lives and immigrant rights.

Rocky Mountain Welcome Center https://www.rockymountainwelcome.org The Rocky Mountain Welcome Center (RMWC) is an immigrant-led multi-tenant, shared space not-for-profit organization with the mission of fostering intercultural learning, understanding and integration among immigrants, refugees and the Colorado residents through programs and activities that develop supportive multicultural communities.

National American Civil Liberties Union https://www.aclu.org The ACLU today is the nation's largest public interest law firm, with a 50-state network of staffed, autonomous affiliate offices. We appear before the United States Supreme Court more than any other organization except the U.S. Department of Justice. About 100 ACLU staff attorneys collaborate with about 2,000 volunteer attorneys in handling close to 2,000 cases annually. The ACLU is non-profit and non-partisan. A number of national projects address specific civil liberties issues: AIDS, capital punishment, lesbian and gay rights, immigrants' rights, prisoners' rights, reproductive freedom, voting rights, women's rights and workplace rights. Current Action link: Urge Congress to give COVID-19 relief to everyone living in the U.S. - immigrants included

American Friends Service Committee, both national and local https://www.afsc.org Founded in 1917, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. https://www.afsc.org/office/denver-co AFSC Denver organizes allies, faith communities and immigrants along the Front Range to support immigrant justice. From resistance to deportation to fomenting positive narratives, we advocate for policy change. We do this work through three groups of member-leaders: Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition, and the Not1More deportation table. Subscribe to receive Colorado Immigrant Rights Action Alerts and Events

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"The House that Love Built"

Listen to chapter one from Sarah Jackson's book, "The House that Love Built," here. When Sarah Jackson (she/her) visited the US/Mexico border in 2012, it changed the course of her life. She spent time with people who’d been deported, listened to their stories, and learned about their reasons for migrating and the dangers they’d faced. She also witnessed families being separated.

Back home, Sarah took stock of her resources: a one bedroom apartment, a love for volleyball, and a belief that families belonged together. It wasn’t much but it was enough. She opened Casa de Paz and started Volleyball Internacional, a volleyball league that donates 100% of its profits to pay for operating expenses of the hospitality home. She’s been hosting and helping to reunite families ever since.

AUTUMN 2020 MISSION PARTNERSHIP ADVOCACY COLLABORATORS

Amnesty International USA (they've featured recent immigration Urgent Actions) https://www.amnesty.org/en/ Human rights change starts with the facts. Our experts do accurate, cross-checked research into human rights violations by governments and others worldwide. We use our analysis to influence and press governments, companies and decision-makers to do the right thing. Through petitions, letters and protests, campaigners worldwide press for action from the people and institutions who can make change happen.

BorderLinks https://www.borderlinks.org Since 1987, BorderLinks (formerly the faith-and-conscience-based U.S. Sanctuary Movement) has been facilitating educational immersion trips for delegations in the Arizona-Sonora region and beyond the border to Chiapas. Through dynamic educational experiences, BorderLinks connects divided communities, raises awareness about the impact of the border and immigration policies, and inspires action for social transformation. The reality of life on the borderlands is much more complex and unjust than most people realize. BorderLinks offers experiential learning opportunities that explore the difficulties of migration and life along the U.S./Mexico border. We aim to educate individuals through interactive experiences. Find out how you can be a part of BorderLinks.  Sign up for their newsletter here

Common Cause • National Chapter https://www.commoncause.org Common Cause has an innovative, pragmatic, and comprehensive pro-democracy agenda. Our work leads and defines the democracy reform movement, promoting solutions already succeeding in some communities to shift power to the people and away from wealthy special interests and partisan ideologues. • Common Cause Colorado Chapter https://www.commoncause.org/colorado/ (See more above)

Families Belong Together https://www.familiesbelongtogether.org Families Belong Together works to permanently end family separation and detention, seek accountability for the harm that’s been done, and immediately reunite all families who remain torn apart.

Free Migration Project https://freemigrationproject.org Free Migration Project represents immigrant clients in their legal proceedings, provides legal support and training to organizers and advocates, engages in public education and outreach, litigates in the public interest, and advocates for fair and open immigration laws.

Freedom United:  Let's End Modern Slavery Together https://www.freedomunited.org We are the world’s largest community dedicated to ending human trafficking & modern slavery. We mobilize a united community to create power for change by making the public stakeholders in ending modern slavery. We equip millions of supporters with awareness, education & ways to take action that drives real change.

Immigrant Legal Resource Center https://www.ilrc.org The mission of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is to work with and educate immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector to continue to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people.

Interfaith Immigration Coalition (one can sign up for notifications and they have a many different tools for advocacy) https://www.interfaithimmigration.org The Interfaith Immigration Coalition comes together to call on Congress and the Administration to enact humane and equitable immigration policy reforms. U.S. policies on immigration and refugee resettlement should recognize the gifts, contributions, and struggles of immigrants and refugees, ensuring justice and protection for all. Our platform is rooted in our interfaith principles, which call us to ensure that our laws promote and protect the dignity of each individual.  Learn about current actions here

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Motus Theater

The mission of Motus Theater is to create original theater to facilitate dialogue on critical issues of our time. We aim to use the power of art to build alliances across diverse segments of our community and country.

Immigration Nation Immigration Nation is a 2020 documentary web television miniseries directed by Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz. Available on Netflix, the series consists of footage filmed from 2017 to 2020 of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency's work during the Trump era. The documentary has been described by at least one film reviewer as "showing the inhumanity and unconscionable cruelty of [the] agency's tactics.

AUTUMN 2020 MISSION PARTNERSHIP ADVOCACY COLLABORATORS

International Rescue Committee https://www.rescue.org The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In more than 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities, our dedicated teams provide clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people. Current Action link: Refugees and Immigrants must be included in COVID-19 recovery measures

La Union del Pueblo Entero - LUPE https://lupenet.org César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded LUPE, a community union, rooted in the belief that members of the low-income community have the responsibility and the obligation to organize themselves. Through their association they begin to advocate and articulate for the issues and factors that impact their lives. Current Action link: Tell RGV public officials to read The Effects of Forced Family Separations in the RGV

Moms Rising https://www.momsrising.org MomsRising combines the best of American innovation and ingenuity. We are a transformative on-the-ground and online multicultural organization of more than a million members and over a hundred aligned organizations working to increase family economic security, to end discrimination against women and mothers, and to build a nation where both businesses and families can thrive. Current Action link: "Let’s make sure to include immigrants in the next COVID relief legislation!"  

National Immigration Law Center https://www.nilc.org Established in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income. At NILC, we believe that all people who live in the U.S. should have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. Over the years, we’ve been at the forefront of many of the country’s greatest challenges when it comes to immigration issues, and we play a major leadership role in addressing the real-life impact of policies that affect the ability of low-income immigrants to prosper and thrive. Take Action here

Poor People's Campaign (co-chair is Dr. Liz Theoharis, a PCUSA minister) https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org From Alaska to Arkansas, the Bronx to the border, people are coming together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. We understand that as a nation we are at a critical juncture — that we need a movement that will shift the moral narrative, impact policies and elections at every level of government, and build lasting power for poor and impacted people. 

Sojourners  https://sojo.net Sojourners are Christians who follow Jesus, but who also sojourn with others in different faith traditions and all those who are on a spiritual journey. We are evangelicals, Catholics, Pentecostals and Protestants; progressives and conservatives; blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians; women and men; young and old. We reach into traditional churches but also out to those who can't fit into them. Together we seek to discover the intersection of faith, politics, and culture. Every Monday there is an Immigration Monday's that takes place at 11:00 a.m. MDT. During Immigration Mondays, we will learn how we can join the efforts of coalitions lead by DACAmented people, coalitions fighting for the rights of DACA recipients and the larger undocumented community. Sign up for Immigration Monday's Current Action links: Call your Senators to Protect DACA • Support the No Ban Act • A Call for Just Immigration Policy

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This book from award winning journalist, Jacob Soboroff, is a powerful and deeply reported journey, laying bare the full truth behind the defining moral crisis of the Trump years: the systematic separation of thousands of desperate migrant families at the US-Mexico border In June 2018.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent is not directly about our current immigration policies in the United States, but it shares an historic look at what we have been and what we remain today. It is a critical tool for greater understanding as to where immigration policies arise and why.

Separated: Inside an American Tragedy

AUTUMN 2020 MISSION PARTNERSHIP ADVOCACY COLLABORATORS

SojoAction Join our Advocate Network and commit to advocate for a radically just world in the areas of voter protection, immigration, climate justice, women & girls, and economic and racial justice through Prayer, Courageous Presence, and Action. Pledge to become a Faith-Rooted Advocate here.

Southern Borders Community Organization https://www.southernborder.org Formed in March 2011, the Southern Border Communities Coalition brings together 60 organizations from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX. Southern Border organizations and community leaders have come together to: • Ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect

human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region. • Promote policies and solutions that improve the quality of life in border communities. • Support rational and humane immigration reform policies affecting the border region.

Sign up here to get the latest updates and participate in petitions

United We Dream  https://unitedwedream.org United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. We create welcoming spaces for young people – regardless of immigration status – to support, engage, and empower them to make their voice heard. We have an online reach of over 4 million and are made up of over 400,000 members. Current Action links: Join the here to stay network • Stop the deportation force

Women's Refugee Commission https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) is creating a better world for refugees. WRC catalyzes transformative change to protect and empower women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crisis.

2021 Immigration Action Plan Read the plan here Led by the Immigration Hub and America's Voice, more than 100 organizations have worked together over a period of 9 months to develop detailed policy prescriptives, instructions for implementation, and a clear vision of our expectations. The 2021 Immigration Action Plan is a preview of our collective efforts. It identifies 10 actions with specific steps to both reverse the racism and damage of the Trump years and discard the longstanding harsh criminalization and deportation policies that have defined many past administrations.

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"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the greater God, mighty

and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for

the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and

clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of

Egypt." ~Deuteronomy 10:17-19

Action: Urge Best Western to no longer allow ICE and MVM to detain migrants in Best Western hotels. Since the beginning of the year, over 100 migrants -- many believed to be children -- were detained at the Best Western Plus Dragon Gate Inn by MVM, a defense contractor hired by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

There has been no way for these kids to report neglect or abuse. No way for them to request legal help. And no way for their parents to even know where they are.

Being held in a hotel instead of a migrant detention center means that all the systems put in place to protect and keep track of these children are gone. Once they walked through the doors of the Best Western Plus Dragon Gate Inn, they essentially disappeared.